I'm going to replace my snare heads soon because the coating is starting to wear off the generic heads that came with it. The snare is a 14x5.5 6-ply poplar shell. The sound I'm looking for is a dry, articulate sound that is versatile enough for rock as well as jazz. (Basically, I want a short sustain and as few overtones as possible without making the drum sound too dead.) To provide more articulation, sensitivity, and a shorter sustain I think I might go with an Evans 200 on the resonant side. For the batter, I'm considering between the dry versions of the Evans Genera, Genera HD, and ST. I want the head to be durable because I do sometimes like to hit pretty hard, but I want it to be sensitive enough to play quietly also.

Does anyone have experience with these heads and their sound characteristics and durability?

Hi, i have used to of the heads you have said about, the st dry and the standard genera. I still use the genera today, i love the sound of thease heads, i mainly play grunge but also a little funk and the genera's are very tough and versatile... i am not a great fan of double ply snare heads but of the two you have mentioned the st is more open sounding than the hd in my opinion.....you can always put a bit of moongel on a snare head to deaden a little..

I personally think the Evans Genera or Power center and Remo ambassador are the best snare heads available.... but eveyrone has a PF.. so its best to find the one that suites you for yourself, if poss try a few.......

Funny..I was just about to post about how I dig my new genera dry. What a great head. Tuned up very easy and consistant around the drum. Very little unwanted overtones, just the right amount of resonance. I close mic for studio work and usually have to put on some moon gel, but not with this baby. Sounds great as is.

I tried the Genera and Genera Dry on a birch shell Stage Custom snare and I stuck with the Genera Dry. After using the Dry for a while I decided to try the Evans Power Center Reverse Dot and five minutes after tuning it up I switched back to the Genera Dry. Not a bad sound with the PCRD just not the sound I prefer. The Dry reduced the overtones without making the drum sound choked.

Alright, thanks for the feedback so far! How about the durability of the Genera/Genera Dry? It is a single-ply head. I usually don't hit extremely hard, but I want it to be durable enough to be able to play hard if I'm playing rock or some heavier type of music.

Alright, thanks for the feedback so far! How about the durability of the Genera/Genera Dry? It is a single-ply head. I usually don't hit extremely hard, but I want it to be durable enough to be able to play hard if I'm playing rock or some heavier type of music.

I don't play hard very often but my son loves to bang away and there have been no issues with durability of the Genera Dry head to this point. Not saying this is a good thing at all but he strikes it so hard sometimes it makes me cringe. It has been on the snare about two months now and gets used everyday by one or both of us.

You can go wrong with old trusted Remo ambassador, this snare drum head has been the best go to snare drum head for me. I'm lucky enough to have worked in a drum store and played every head on many types of snares and I must say the the Ambassador (for me) has been the best.

Hi there, I would recommend the Aquarian Studio-X head, because I have it on my poplar snare. On the other 3 snares that I own (brass, maple and cherry/maple) I have Genera dry so I'm very familiar with this head and I love it, but the Aquarian Studio-X head made the poplar to be my favorite snare at the moment. Maybe I can try to describe the sound like a dry and alive in the same time. I hope that make sense.

I'm LOVING my Evans Genera HD Dry head. I put it on my trusty 'ol supraphonic and I got great results. Very durable too. If you like a fat sound I'd go with a remo emperor x in suede, one of the strongest heads in my opinion, and if you like the look of black heads, its a win/win!

A great snare head is the Aquarian Texture Coated w/ power dot. Great overall sound, lets the snare open up, but still has control, and durability with the dot underneath. The Z100 coating is fantastic!